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A coalition of gun rights advocates Tuesday asked a federal judge to grant an injunction blocking California authorities from shuttering gun shops during the coronavirus pandemic.

The motion is part of a lawsuit filed Friday by the National Rifle Association and other groups against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alexander Villanueva after the state deemed gun retailers as nonessential businesses.

Also on Tuesday, the plaintiffs requested the court issue an order to show cause forcing the defendants to explain why an injunction should not be issued.

“California officials seem blind and deaf to the new guidelines, and the fact that law-abiding citizens want to exercise their Second Amendment rights during this time of crisis,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “We’re asking the court to fix their eyesight and improve their hearing.”

Governors in other states, including Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, had initially closed gun shops during the pandemic, but they later reversed course allowing them to stay open.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, had allowed county sheriffs to decide if gun stores were essential. Mr. Villanueva initially closed the shops, but then reversed himself only to change his mind again closing gun retailers.